


I'd Lie

by hemmotoxicity



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:37:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4404740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hemmotoxicity/pseuds/hemmotoxicity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Calum struggles to bust out of the friendzone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'd Lie

He picks up on the third ring.

 

_'Where are you?'_  is the first thing he says. He doesn't ask who was calling; the caller ID made that pretty damned obvious. And besides, it wasn't like he hadn't seen it coming. He's been getting these calls for weeks.

 

"What, no _'Hi Cally'_?" Calum teases, his speech somewhat slurred.

 

"Calum, you're drunk."  _Again_ , he wanted to add. But Luke kept that thought to himself.

 

"No, I'm not." Calum chuckles.

 

"Yes, you are." Luke says, somehow managing not to sigh in exasperation.

 

"Where are you?"

 

"I'm here."

 

"Calum..."

 

"I'm right here, Luke." he said this like it was the most important thing in the world, because it was. For him, at least.

 

Luke probably wouldn't understand what he was trying to say, but Calum hoped against hope that he would. Maybe then he wouldn't have to spend almost every night getting bladdered.

 

"Just tell me where you are." Luke was no longer asking - he was  _demanding_  an answer.

 

"Why do you want to know?"

 

"Jesus, Calum, isn't it obvious? You're drunk and I'm driving you home."

 

"I'll be fine, Luke. It's your boyfriend you should be worrying about, not me."

 

Luke sighs.  _He must be drunker than I thought._

 

"I don't have a boyfriend, remember?" he asks.

 

Calum knew this, of course. He wasn't drunk enough to forget  _that_. He just wanted to hear him say it. Wanted to be reminded that, even though Luke wasn't his, at least he wasn't anyone else's.

 

"Right. I forgot." Calum lies, forcing a laugh.

 

"Please just tell me where you are."

 

He could hear the worry in the younger boy's voice, but he kept silent. He knew Luke was bound to figure it out, but Calum wasn't very inclined to help him.

 

Pretty soon this night would end the way the others had - with Luke driving him home and him falling asleep as soon as his body hits the bed, his mind blessedly peaceful for a few short hours.

 

Torturous as it may be, he didn't really want this night - or this phone call, for that matter - to end. He wanted to stay in this moment for as long as he could, because right now, Luke was worried about him. Luke cared about him.

 

Calum resisted the urge to snort.  _Of course_   _he cares about you. You're his best friend,_  he thought to himself.

 

His  _best friend_.

 

It was a title he loved and hated. For one, he didn't really want to be  _just_  friends - he wanted the two of them to be more than that. But on the other hand... if he couldn't be Luke's boyfriend, he still wanted to be close to him.

 

At the moment, being his best friend was the best - and at the same time, the worst - that he could possibly hope for.

 

"Calum, please."

 

He doesn't reply.

 

Luke heaves another sigh. "It's the pub, isn't it? That's where you are, right?"

 

He nods before realising that he couldn't see him.

 

"Yeah." he replies.

 

"Don't move. I'll be right there."

 

Luke hangs up before the brunet could say another word, and this time it's Calum's turn to sigh. Just when he was about to say _'I love you'_...

 

Calum wasn't going to say it, not really. He'd thought about saying it loads of times before, but he knew deep down that he would never do it. He couldn't risk losing Luke, and if he didn't feel the same way, then lose him he will.

 

But what if he  _did_  feel the same way?

 

Calum shook his head. Thinking about it was pointless, especially since he might never know for sure. Truth be told, he wasn't really sure he wanted to know how Luke felt. The way he sees it, living in uncertainty was better than dealing with the truth... especially since the truth could be very painful.

 

He downs what was left of his drink and drums his fingers on the table as he waited for Luke to arrive.

 

Slowly, the world swims back into focus. For the first time, he notices the Christmas lights that were hanging just above the bar, the tiny bulbs winking on and off.

 

He becomes vaguely aware of the barkeeper - whom he had spotted wiping tables out of the corner of his eye - and the music playing over the sound system registers at last.

 

_Do I wanna know_

 

_If this feeling flows both ways_

 

Calum groaned. The last thing he needed was to be mocked by a song.

 

He tried to block it out - "try" being the operative word because he wasn't at all successful.

 

_Crawling back to you_

 

_Ever thought of calling when you've had a few_

 

_'Cause I always do_

 

He was about to yell at the DJ to play something else, but then he remembered that he wasn't even in a "proper" bar - it was just your regular neighbourhood pub. Sure, it catered to people who were noticeably older than him, the atmosphere was a little too homey for his liking, and the music wasn't of the party variety... but at least it was loaded with alcohol and insanely accessible.

 

_I guess I'm gonna have to suck it up,_  he thought, wincing as the song hit dangerously close to home.

 

Luke arrived a few minutes later, wiping all thoughts of  _Arctic Monkeys_  from Calum's sluggish brain.

 

"Thanks for looking after him, Tom." Luke tells the barkeeper.

 

Tom chuckles. Lord knows he's had his fair share of drunken nights when he was younger. "No problem, Luke. Get him home safely, yeah?"

 

"That's the plan." the blonde nods, nudging Calum as she did so.

 

The raven-haired boy had somehow managed to doze off during his brief conversation with Tom. Now the boy in question sat bolt upright, conscious but most decidedly drunk.

 

"Let's get you home." Luke says, helping the other boy stand up. "Did you bring your car?"

 

"I walked," Calum states, swaying ever so slightly.

 

Luke nods - more to himself than to anyone else.

 

He wasn't really counting on Calum bringing a car. As a matter of fact, he hadn't brought one in the two weeks he'd been coming here. Luke supposed he knew he would be too inebriated by the end of the evening.

 

Luke almost smiled. Calum might be a bit wild, but he sure as hell wasn't stupid. And as annoying as it may be to be woken up at ungodly hours just to drive his best friend home, Luke didn't really mind. He would do anything to make sure Calum got home safely.

 

The drive to Calum's house was a short one, considering the fact that he lived just a few blocks from the pub. Luke opened the front door using the spare key under the hydrangea plant - Calum had forgotten his keys yet again - and helped the older boy up the stairs and into his bedroom.

 

Calum was asleep as soon as he hit the mattress, and Luke had to wrestle Calum's shoes off of his feet. Deciding he didn't have it in him to try and get Calum into his pyjamas - it was two in the morning and Luke was far too tired - the blonde walked to the door and flipped the light off.

 

Calum rolled in his sleep and Luke spotted a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring at him - albeit groggily.

 

"Go back to sleep," he tells Calum. "I'll see you tomorrow."

 

Calum's silent for a moment.

 

"Maybe you  _should_  get a boyfriend," he finally says. "That way you can't just come running whenever I get myself drunk, and I can't call you up any time because I'm not on your priority list anymore." he adds, managing - quite miraculously - not to choke on the words.

 

_I might even be able to move on after_   _that,_ Calum thought. Seeing Luke with someone else wasn't going to be easy, but if that was the price of moving on...

 

Luke allows himself a small smile. "You'll always be on my priority list, Cal."

 

Luke closed the door behind him and exited the house as silently as he could, willing Calum to fall back into sleep. Luke was fairly certain the male was fast asleep by now - Calum never could keep his eyes open when he was drunk. He took one last glance at Calum's house before getting inside his car.

 

"Maybe you  _should_  get a boyfriend," he said, imitating Calum's tone perfectly.

 

"Boyfriend, my ass." he adds, shaking his head as he turned on the radio.

 

_Maybe I'm too busy being yours_

 

_To fall for somebody new_

 

"Ugh!" he groans, switching the radio off immediately. "Not this song again."

 

Luke found himself looking at Calum's house, which was clearly visible through his car window.

 

_Someday,_ he thought.  _Someday I might actually be able to tell him._

 

But for now, the  _I_   _love you_ s he'd been wanting to tell Calum are all hidden away in his mind.

**Author's Note:**

> right, so... i haven't quite worked out if i'm going to make this chaptered or just leave it here. let me know what you think, yeah?


End file.
